Frogtoon Música

Salawat Dimashqiyya by Al Firdaus Ensemble

Biografía del artista Al Firdaus Ensemble

Al Firdaus Ensemble Based In Granada Was Founded In 2012 By The English Violinist And Singer Ali Keeler And Includes Musicians From England Spain And Morocco. The Group Takes Its Inspiration From The Word Firdaus Which Is The Arabic Name Of Persian Origin For The Most Elevated Abode In Paradise. The Intercultural Nature Of This Name Reflects The Character Of The Group In Which Musicians From Different Countries And Cultural Backgrounds Are Brought Together With One Purpose. Just As The Musicians Tune Their Instruments So They Need To Tune Their Hearts To Receive The Inspiration Of The Moment And Transmit That To The Audience. The Traditional Arabic Term For This Kind Of Music Is Sama` Which Could Be Translated As “the Art Of Listening”. The Unique Sound Of Their Music Is Due To A Synthesis Of Different Musical Styles. These Include Original Compositions Of A More Western Classical Character With Influences From Both Celtic And Flamenco Traditions And New Arrangements Of Songs Drawn From The Rich Heritage Of Traditional Sufi Music From Arabic Andalusi And Turkish Sources. The Words Of The Songs Are Mainly In Arabic Drawn From The Poetry Of The Great Sufis From Al Andalus And The Arab World Such As Ibn Arabi And Al Shushtari. Also Within Their Repertoire Are Musical Adaptations Of Poems In Aljamiado Old Spanish Written By The Moriscos Using The Arabic Script. In This Way Al Firdaus Hopes To Revive The Heritage Of The Moriscos Whose Culture Was Forbidden In Its Day And And Has Only Reached Us Through Manuscripts Which They Left Behind On Their Expulsion In 1609 And That Have Been Discovered Over The Years Hidden In Old Houses. Al Firdaus Usually Plays In Quartet Or Quintet Formation But Is Versatile And Can Perform As A Trio Or In Larger Formations Depending On The Requirements Of The Concert. They Use A Combination Of Arabic And Western Classical Instruments In Addition To The Flamenco Guitar And Have A Range Of Singers Some Of Whom Are Soloists And Others Who Sing In The Choruses. They Can Also Perform In Choral Formation Accompanied Only By Percussion Instruments. They Have Performed In Concerts And International Festivals Throughout Europe Bosnia The U.S. Morocco Algeria Tunisia Turkey Lebanon And Malaysia. They Released Two CDs. Safa In 2014 Nur In 2017 Ali Keeler
Solo Voice And Violin
Ali Keeler Was Born In London In 1973 And Started Learning The Violin At The Age Of Seven. During His Youth He Played In Several Orchestras. In 1991 He Went On To Study Classical Violin At The Royal Northern College Of Music In Manchester Where He Gained Experience Playing In A String Quartet. He Moved To Damascus In Syria In 1998. During His Time In Syria He Learnt To Sing Within The Tradition Of The Maqam In The Zawiyas Of Damascus And Aleppo Receiving Instruction In Singing From The Well-Known Munshid Ustadh Mustapha Karim. Applying His Musical Experience Within The Arabic Tradition To The Violin He Has Developed A Varied Repertoire Of Celtic Arabic Andalusi And Turkish Pieces. In 2006 He Moved To Granada And In 2007 Helped Form The Group Al Kauthar. He Contributed Within The Group As The Lead Singer Violinist Arranger And Composer Performing In Concerts And Festivals In Europe Turkey And Morocco. In 2012 He Founded The Group Al Firdaus Ensemble With Whom He Has Performed In Numerous Concerts Throughout Europe The US North Africa Turkey Lebanon His Recordings Include Violin Solos In Two Of The Albums Of The British Band Archive Londinium 1996 And Take My Head 1999 Both Released With Island Records. The Album Ruh With The Group Al Kauthar Released In 2008 In Which He Contributed As Violinist Leading Vocalist Composer And Arranger. The Album Safa With Al Firdaus Ensemble Released In 2014 In Which He Contributed As Violinist Singer Composer Arranger And Co-Producer. The Album Nur With Al Firdaus Ensemble Released In 2017 In Which He Contributed As Violinist Singer Composer Arranger And Co-Producer. The Album In Which He Contributed As Violinist Singer Composer Arranger And Co-Producer. Sufi Songs Of Andalusia Released In 2017 With Mishkat Media. Yusuf El Mezghildi
Qanun Lute And Voice Choir
Yusuf El Mezghildi Was Born In Tetouan Morocco In 1962. From The Age Of 5 He Attended The Sufi Gatherings At The Zawiya Kittaniya With His Father Where He Learnt To Sing Traditional Devotional Songs. He Continued His Musical Training At The Conservatoire Of Music Of Tetouan Where Over The Course Of Ten Years He Studied Andalusi Arabic And Western Classical Music Studying 3 Years Of Piano. He Studied The Lute With The Distinguished Teacher Mukhtar Mufarej And Also Studied Under The Former Director Of The Orquestra Of Tetouan And Head Of The Academy Of Music Muhammed Larbi. At The Age Of 25 He Took Up The Qanun Studying Privately With The Master Haj Ahmad Said. Al Shabab Al Hilal And The Orchestra Of Chekara From Tetouan Are Among Some Of The Well-Known Groups He Has Played With. He Has Also Accompanied And Recorded With Some Of The Best Known Singers Of Morocco. He Moved To Spain In 2002 Settling In Granada Where He Now Resides. He Has Experience Playing In Diverse Styles Of Music Flamenco Andalusi Arabic And Medieval With Groups Such As Al Tarab Turath Al Andalus Alquimista And Al Kauthar. In Spain He Has Performed And Recorded With Many Famous Artists Such As Enrique Morente José Merce Lole Y Manuel María Valverde And El Lebrijano. He Has Been With Al Firdaus Ensemble Since Its Beginning In 2012 Performing With Them In Concerts And Festivals In Europe North Africa Turkey Lebanon The U.S. And Malaysia. He Has Recorded On Both Their CDs Safa And Nur Contributing On The Qanun And Lute And As An Arranger. Omar Benlamlih
Percussion Bendir And Darbuka And Lead Vocal
Omar Benlamlih Was Born In Casablanca In 1980 To A Family Of Musicians And Singers Within The Sufi Tradition Originally From Fez. He Learnt To Sing And Play Percussion At The Casablanca Academy Of Music And Through His Attendance At Sufi Gatherings At Various Zawiyas In Casablanca And Fez. He Is At Home Singing And Playing Percussion In A Varity Of Musical Genres Such As Arabic Andalusi Flamenco Jazz Celtic And Fusion. In 2004 He Joined The Group Tangeri Café Orquestra With Whom He Made His First Recording. He Has Toured Europe With This Group Taking Part In Prestigious Festivals Such As The European Jazz Expo. In Sardinia The Festival Of Pompei Lugano Festival And The Festival Of Ancient Music In Bari. In 2006 He Formed His Own Group Called Turath Al Andalus Dedicated To The Interpretation Of Arabic Andalusi And Flamenco Fusion. He Has Been With Al Firdaus Ensemble Since Its Beginning In 2012 Performing With Them In Concerts And Festivals In Europe North Africa Turkey Lebanon The U.S. And Malaysia. She Has Recorded On Their CDs Safa Released In 2014 And Nur Released In 2017 As Cellist And Arranger. Salma Vives
Chelo
Salma Vives Was Born In Elche Near Alicante In 1983 And Started Learning The Cello At Seven. She Started Her Musical Studies At The Conservatoire In Elche Later Continuing Her Studies In The Conservatoire Of Granada. She Has Played In Many Different Orchestras And Chamber Ensembles Including Those Specializing In Ancient Music. Her Interest In Ancient Music And Oriental Music Led Her To Take Up The Lute Her Second Instrument. She Gained Experience Playing The Lute In A Group Called Nakhla Dedicated To The Interpretation Of Arabic Andalusi And Traditional Spanish Folk Music. She Also Plays In Groups Of Flamenco Music And Has Collaborated With Some Well-Known Flamenco Artists Such As The Guitarist Fraskito. She Also Plays With The Multi-Instrumentalist And Composer Ignacio Bejar In The Group ´El Sombrero Del Alquimista´. She Was One Of The Founding Members Of The Group Al Kauthar In Which She Contributed Both As A Performer And Arranger Recording On Their CD Ruh With Both Cello And Lute. She Has Been With Al Firdaus Ensemble Since Its Initiation In 2012 Performing With Them In Concerts And Festivals In Europe North Africa Turkey Lebanon The U.S. And Malaysia. He Has Recording On Their CDs Safa Released In 2014 And Nur Released In 2017 Contributing As Cellist And Arranger. Morocco And Tunisia And Recording On Their First CD Safa. Muhammad Domínguez
Percussion
Muhammad Dominguez Was Born In Caracas Venezuela In 1986 And Since A Very Early Age He Became Involved In Music Starting With The Piano When He Was 11 And Then At 13 He Began To Learn The Bass Guitar And Classical Guitar. When He Was 17 Years Old He Started Playing The Darbuka And Became Involved With Middle-Eastern Music. At The Age Of 21 He Moved To Spain And Settled In The City Of Granada. Since Then He Has Dedicated His Energy Talent And Knowledge In Projects Related To Arabic Andalusi And Mediterranean Musical Traditions. He Performs With Various Groups Such As Al Tarab A Group Dedicated To Arabic And Andalusi Music
and Faluka Dedicated To Music Of The Mediterranean And Sefardi Music. He Plays Different Kinds Of Drums Including The Dohola Darbuka Duff And Riq. Apart From Performance And Teaching Percussion He Also Devotes His Time To Composition Especially Film Music. Among The Documentaries That He Has Written Music For Is Unitea About Tea Production In Kenya A Short Film Called Visit Britain And The Letter About A Syrian Refugee´s Journey To The UK. He Has Been Playing With Al Firdaus Ensemble Since 2015 And Has Performed With Them In Concerts In Europe The US Canada Morocco And Lebanon. He Has Also Recorded On Their New Album Nur Released In 2017.

INICIO AL FIRDAUS ENSEMBLE
POPULARES PISTAS MEZCLAS ÁLBUMES
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